Robert Siciliano discusses internet security risks on a morning show with Northeastern student Adam Madsen, who was hacked. They cover password dangers, public Wi-Fi threats, and infected links, citing findings from an RSA and EMC study on avoiding security mistakes.
Chapters
Still coming your way this morning, more and more folks are using Facebook and Twitter, but posting personal information online may end up costing you big time. We're going to talk with an internet expert about the types of things you should keep private and one college student who's been burned online. Alright, thank you very much, Cindy. It's the ultimate "well, that'll never happen to me or my kids" scenario. Leaving information online, posting embarrassing pictures or information you think is harmless at the time, that we all know about, but sometimes unknowingly you're leaving yourself at risk. No matter how smart you are or your child is, more and more folks and kids are falling falling victim to making some seemingly innocent yet costly mistakes online. Joining us this morning is internet security expert Robert Siciliano and a local college student, Adam Madsen. He's from Northeastern, intelligent kid who just made some bad missteps online. Adam, I'm going to start with you. You're 22 years old, pre-med at Northeastern. Tell us what happened to you.
So basically my computer got hacked somehow just because of my careless behavior on the computer, I guess. And it's— a virus is being sent out to all my contacts and my AIM buddy lists. In my Gchat, and like at least 2 or 3 times a day a virus is sent out with a link saying, "Hey, look at these pictures." And, uh—
So how did you leave yourself susceptible to that, do you think? Are you sitting there saying, "Well, how did this happen? I think I know what I'm doing. I think I'm safe. I think I'm secure.
I think I'm doing the right things." Well, I feel like I generally try to be safe, but I guess, uh, one, I give my password out to my roommates. I live with 5 guys. You know, it's not too safe, and I'm sure they give it out to their friends. I just kind of use it as a public computer. But also, I think maybe public Wi-Fi. Our internet at our apartment isn't secure. A few things.
So what happened here, Robert? This is a common mistake where you think you're doing all the right things and you just, you know, "Well, password, they're my friends.
Nothing bad can happen from this." Well, see, RSA did a study and 91%—
RSA being?
RSA is a big security company in Bedford, Massachusetts. And they did a study that 91% of, uh, 18- to 24-year-olds are, uh, accepting friendship from people they don't know on Facebook.
Mm-hmm.
I mean, how could you be 19 years old and have 1,000 friends, right? And many of these people are criminal hackers trying to penetrate your computer, get into your profile, and send you links. Once you click on them, then you download a virus onto your computer. And that may be what happened to Adam.
Mm-hmm.
Now, in addition to that, uh, while, uh, 73% of 18- to 24-year-olds are concerned about their personal security online, are engaging in risky behavior.
Now, one thing he talked about, if you're at the airport or maybe, you know, you hear these places, "We have Wi-Fi now," or you're at an internet cafe and it's a public Wi-Fi and you think you're okay there, that's a big mistake. If you're going to use that, you've got to be careful about what sites you're logging on to and what information you're actually digging up there, right?
Yeah, when you're on a public PC or on public Wi-Fi, you're exposed. You're kind of, you know, running naked in the woods. And when you are logging into public computers, you very well could be logging into somebody else's Facebook, somebody else's online banking, and they logging into your it's very important that you log out of any of these sites once you're on a public Wi-Fi or a public PC.
Couple very simple tips here. Obviously, number one, don't share your password. Sorry, Adam. No matter how much you trust your friends. And what about the Facebook and Twitter? Because people still like to do that. What kind of steps can you take to make sure you're okay on that?
What we're seeing a lot is infected links showing up in your address book. So somebody will send you an email, say click on this link to watch this funny video. And once you click on that link, you're gonna download a virus that infects your PC and allows them to access your computer and access your Facebook page.
So you shouldn't accept everybody who wants to be a friend, you know, unless you know them, then tell them to take a hike.
See, I don't think you should friend anybody that you don't know and never click links in the body of an email.
And what advice would you give quickly to friends or other kids your age about thinking they're doing all the right things but maybe leaving themselves a little vulnerable out there?
Quickly, just the main thing, I guess, it can happen to you. You know, I thought Can't happen to me. I had that mentality being a young kid, but it happens.
And you're still cleaning it up.
I'm still cleaning it up. All right.
And the other thing you could do is log on to maintainmyprivacy.com. Again, that's through RSA, right?
Yes.
And get some important information and tips there to make sure you're doing everything absolutely right to make sure you're protecting yourself online. Robert, as always, thank you. Adam, nice to see you. Thanks for coming in and sharing your story with us.
